Feeding the Family: Plant Based Eating

People become plant based eaters for a lot of different reasons. I experimented it with it myself a number of years ago, and actually ate completely vegan for probably about a year and a half. There are many reasons people do this, some people may be concerned about health and longevity, there may be religious reasons, or they may just love animals.

Some people are maybe focused on the environment and making sure that our food sources are sustainable. Other people may just not like the taste of meat or the idea of where that comes from. For me, it was a health and longevity question that I wanted to experiment with.

People also have different definitions of what plant based eating means to them. For some people, that just means that ⅔ of their plates are plants, and there may be a little bit of animal protein on their plate. For other people it means they're vegetarian, or strictly vegan. Some only eat dairy, or only eat chicken, or only eat shellfish. You can really define it for whatever fits for you. But to me, the main point is that we're really focused on getting a lot of vegetables.

I encourage you, if you're interested, to try this out to do some experiments with yourself, and see how you feel and how you react. Just be careful and don't have too many rules or restrictions, just really switch the focus to getting lots of really good foods into your body and into your system.

As far as what to include in the diet, I would encourage making sure that you include beans and legumes because they're both good sources of protein. Be careful with these, there’s a lot of fiber in them and that could cause some intestinal distress. You may also want to look at higher protein whole grains like quinoa. A good rule of thumb as you're starting is try to limit soy products as much as possible. Again, focus your base on the plants and the beans and only have soy products in moderation.

You may also want to consider some supplementation. A good start would just be a good multivitamin, there are also algae based omega three fatty acids that you can use instead of fish based products. You can also purchase plant based protein powders, they have a different flavor than the milk based ones but I think they are palatable.

If you’re looking at experimenting for a longer period of time, you may want to get some blood testing done.

If you're a strength athlete, I recommend supplementing with three to five grams of creatine each day. You may also want to consider taurine and beta alanine, as these are useful for people who are 100% plant based athletes. Lastly, if you're getting into this and you're really sticking with it for a period of time, you want to just keep your eyes open for any hormonal disruptions that could affect your energy balance. For example, if you're eating a lot of processed soy, this can affect your thyroid and sex hormones. The same thing can actually happen if you're eating a lot of cruciferous vegetables. So kale, cauliflower, broccoli, things like those can also affect your hormonal health and even your nutritional nutrient status. All that fiber binds to fat based substances like steroid hormones, and then pulls them out of the body with that fiber when you go to the bathroom.

Another thing to keep an eye on with this kind of diet is undereating. Keep an eye on calorie intake and make sure your calorie intake is appropriate for your body size and your activity level. The other thing is, if you end up getting into some processed foods, or eating a lot of like nuts and nut butters for your protein source, then you may find you’re overeating. You want to keep an eye on those things.

You know, when I started eating a vegan diet I did enjoy it and I did feel good.

For me, what I found over time was it required a whole different skill set in the kitchen to prepare food. Preparing food when I was vegan was extremely time consuming, labor intensive, and expensive if the meals were going to be appetizing. After a certain period of time, my schedule just wouldn’t allow this amount of food preparation time.

When this happened I began going to the store and picking up convenience foods that were labeled vegan, but were extremely processed and filled with things I didn’t need. At this time 7-8 years ago, pre-cooked healthier items became more available such as pre cooked chicken breast, so the convenience foods I was eating to stay vegan were less healthy than the animal based products available.  So it dawned on me that I was actually starting to eat less healthfully than if I would just have a chicken breast. That's when I migrated back to, a more moderate style traditionally balanced diet.

The key when experimenting with these diets is to know what you are getting into and plan accordingly, stick to healthy options and keep your health in check.

Since you’re here: We have a small favor to ask! At SAPT, we are committed to sharing quality information that is both entertaining and compelling to help build better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage us authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics.

Thank you! SAPT

Feeding the Family: Fluid Intake Recommendations

Hydration is extremely important for humans and animals to stay alive and have all of our biological processes be executed as precisely and efficiently as they are capable of. So today’s post is going to be on some tips and guidelines for proper hydration year round.

First of all, we need to talk about the fact that there is a variance in how thirsty we feel depending on many different factors. The weather, how much salt we are consuming, whether we have trained, or whether we are drinking alcohol all play a role in how thirsty we feel. And just because we don’t feel thirsty doesn’t necessarily mean that our bodies aren’t losing fluids, there is a lag time between the fluid loss and our bodies’ registration of the thirst signal to our brains. For many of us in climate controlled environments most of the day excessive dehydration isn’t a huge concern, but for athletes and people working outside in hot climates, it is a major risk that needs to be discussed. These dehydration problems can get serious very quickly.

So, how much should you be drinking? Well, it definitely depends on your size and your activity level, but there is a starting point we can use as a rule of thumb. Most adults need around three liters(L) of water, which for everyone using the english system is a little less than 1 gallon of water. It doesn't have to be just straight water, other fluids count as fluid intake. Some fluids like sodas and alcohol aren’t very valuable to your system, so I typically don’t count them toward fluid intake, but most other things can be included. I know that sounds like a heck of a lot of water to get down for an average sized person!

Just know that you may get a whole liter of fluids from the food that you eat, taking it down to 2L a day, something that sounds much more manageable. If you’re a larger person, you will still need to be closer to that gallon mark. If you're sick, and especially if you're losing fluid through vomiting or diarrhea, your fluid and electrolyte intake will need to be increased. If it's warm and dry, you may need another few cups of water a day. And if you're exercising a whole heck of a lot you could potentially need up to like six liters of fluid per day, so there are clearly a lot of factors to keep in mind when looking at hydration! If you’re going to begin drinking 3L of water per day, and this is interrupting your life because your going to the bathroom so much, you may want to reduce your fluid intake until you adapt to the higher amount.

Again, just because you're in a comfortable environment does not mean that you're not losing fluid. Everything passes through our skin as it is the main medium between our internal bodies and the external environment. There's a lot of heat and water that gets lost just through your skin.

By no means is keeping up with hydration easy, I know I have trouble with it!. Most of us are in a mild state of dehydration at all times. To keep up with this, I have a water bottle with me at all times, because if I don’t have constant access I will not get enough fluids in. Personally, I like to have a water bottle that is a full liter in size, because I have to fill it up less and will naturally get more water in.

Percentage of body weight is the main measure we look at for the consequences of water loss.. With ½%, there is increased strain on the heart, with 1%, we see a reduction in aerobic endurance. This is why you see athletes in endurance sports are always on top of their hydration levels. At 3% we see reduced muscular endurance while at 4% we see reduced muscular strength, a reduction in motor skills, and heat cramps. At 5% heat exhaustion begins with cramping, fatigue, reduced mental capacity and at 6% we see physical exhaustion, heat stroke, and coma. Once an individual hits 10 to 20% they are probably going to face death. So we want to make sure we're keeping fluids in at all times. Very regular consumption. Most people shouldn’t have an issue with this.

It’s easy to monitor percentage of body weight lost due to exercise: simply weigh yourself before a training session and then again after the session. Those two numbers will tell you how well you are hydrating during the training session.

Now, I mentioned before, there's often a lag between becoming mildly dehydrated and your body's signal to let you know you're actually thirsty. So we tend to not even notice thirst until we've lost 1 to 2% of our body water. As I just mentioned, at this point it is already having some negative effects on our performance. So just as a reminder, this is increased strain on the heart and reduce the aerobic endurance. And beyond that, we start to get into some pretty unpleasant things. Other side effects that can happen outside of just performance implications include headache, fatigue, low blood pressure, dizziness, fainting, nausea, and even rapid heart rate.

The goal here is to simple: always make sure if you're working out in the heat or, your job requires you to be in an extreme environment of some kind (hey, this includes athletes!) that you always have access to fluids and be sure that you're rehydrating regularly. If we do that, then we should be all set and stay out of trouble.

Since you’re here: We have a small favor to ask! At SAPT, we are committed to sharing quality information that is both entertaining and compelling to help build better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage us authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics.

Thank you! SAPT

Feeding the Family: Low Carb Diet Magic?

So what's the deal with fast weight loss? We've seen for years the low carb diet promoters claiming you can lose a bunch of weight really quickly if you follow their diet plan.  The fact is, when somebody switches from a carbohydrate rich diet to a low carb diet, they do lose weight.

So let's talk about that.

What's happening is your body is losing water. For every gram of carbohydrate stored in your muscles, four grams of water are stored with it. When carbohydrates are no longer stored in the muscles, that water is no longer stored either. In the short term, this is the magic of these diets, this is why people can lose weight so quickly.

This is similar to the way wrestlers and other athletes in weight class sports lose weight, they just get their bodies to stop storing water. For something like this you don’t even need to change your carbohydrate intake too much unless you go to an extreme. You just basically overload yourself with a ton of water, and then start cutting back over a period of days, and you'll lose an enormous amount of weight.

I personally lost 10 pounds for the last powerlifting meet that I did and that was over a course of, I want to say, five days. The advantage here is that you are losing the weight quickly, so the body isn’t typically going to attack the muscle fibers.

Sheet pan salmon. Technically low-carb, but also just a super healthy dinner option.

Another key to the popularity of low carb diets or fat heavy diets tends to be the high fat and protein. These high levels of fat tend to be more satiating, so people aren’t hungry for a longer period of time. Much like with weight lifting and conditioning, I’ve personally tried every diet from here to the other side of the world that made any sense to me to see what it felt like. The best thing for me about the low carb diets were how tasty they were, because of how much fat there is in the diet.

However, nothing compares to a balanced carbohydrate rich diet for energy intake.

The point is there's no like magic to losing weight. At the end of the day, a low carb diet will give you a little bit of immediate motivation, because of the rapid weight loss. However, this may also happen if you just clean up your diet a little bit as well, even with keeping a lot of carbohydrates in. Just from cleaning things up but still eating a lot of carbohydrates, I'll lose a bunch of water that first week, you know, to the tune of four or five pounds. The truth is weight loss or gain is a calories in versus calories out game.

Having the discipline to control your caloric intake over a long period of time, is what always wins out in the long run. Having the discipline to make sure that you are eating a very nutrient dense diet with lots of colorful fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and whole food sources of carbohydrates will always win out in the long run for what's going to make you feel and perform at your best. Ketogenic and low carb diets are great and as I said, I've done them myself with quite a bit of success. But, I’ve also had quite a bit of success from a carbohydrate rich diet and much more energy.

So these diets can be beneficial in the short term, but nothing beats a more balanced approach. This goes for how you look, feel, and perform.

Since you’re here: We have a small favor to ask! At SAPT, we are committed to sharing quality information that is both entertaining and compelling to help build better athletes. Please take a moment to share the articles on social media, engage us authors with questions and comments below, and link to articles when appropriate if you have a blog or participate on forums of related topics.

Thank you! SAPT

Percolation of Lies: Why I Hate Nutritionally "Sensational" Headlines

This is why America has no idea what to eat. This is why our collective relationship with food is so darn complicated. The following is akin to the constant stream of media articles that claim a food is horrible one week and a wonder food the next. (We all know how  frustrating and confusing that is!)

Time ran an article about an Iowan science teacher, John Cisna, who ate nothing but McDonald's for three meals a day for 90 days and lost weight. It's also HERE entitled: "Man Loses Nearly 40lbs Eating Only McDonald's."

That's an extremely misleading title! While I can't blame the new sites for wanting catchy titles to reel in readers, the articles don't expound too much on Cisna's diet (or what the nutritional composition of those meals were) and they down play the plethora of other factors within his self-experiment.

A quick run-down on the facts expressed in the articles (in case you don't want to ready them). With the help of his class, John Cisna:

1. Constructed 3 meals based on a 2,000 calorie diet and the recommended intakes for protein, carbohydrates, and fat by the USDA (which I think are bunk, but that's a whole 'nother ball game).

2. Walked 45 minutes per day (when previously, he was doing no extra physical activity)

3. Resulted in a 37 lb weight loss and a drop in cholesterol from 249 (dangerously high) to 170 (decent level). His LDL dropped from 173 to 113. (also insanely high to an ok-level).

I'll state the glaringly obvious that, any a man who was quite overweight to begin with (280lbs) performing NO extra physical activity, and was probably over-eating anyway, WILL lose weight with calorie reduction and added physical activity. That's just physiology. At this point, ANYTHING he does towards reducing his calories and increasing his exercise will produce weight loss. Also, the cholesterol reduction is a result in the weight loss, not necessarily the food he ate. Can you start to see why this title is misleading?

To quote the man himself, "The point behind this documentary is, Hey, it's (a) choice. We all have choices. It's our choices that make us fat, not McDonald's." source

On one hand, I agree with Cisna; we are not victims of our environment, we do have the option to choose healthier foods when out to eat. No one forces us to purchase a Big Mac over a salad. It is imperative that we be wary consumers when fast food is involved (the food companies strive to make their food palatable, cheap, and addictive) and Cisna proved that when one digs a bit and is aware of the caloric values of food, that empowers us to make smarter food choices.

On the other hand, the real message is convoluted and lost amid that headline. It presents the situation as a justification for choosing McDonald's instead of  a home cooked meal. Or instead of a meal composed of WHOLE, minimally-processed foods ('cause I guarantee that McDonald's has very few whole foods on the menu.). Conveniently, you can read along with this handy ingredient guide. You'll want to refer to this as we move on.

Cisna admitted to having double cheeseburgers and a Big Macs throughout the experiment. Hmmm... Big Macs have roughly  29 grams of fat (and not the good kind check out the "Big Mac sauce"), 46 g of carbohydrates (definitely not the minimally processed kinds, look at the guide under "regular bun"), and 25 g of protein (but, really, where does that meat COME FROM?)

"Yeah Kelsey," you say, " we already KNOW that's not a 'healthy' choice." Fair enough, let's take a gander, shall we, at the yogurt parfait he ate regularly:

2 g of fat, 30 g carbohydrates, and 4 g of protein. Once again, I question the quality of the source of the fat and protein (from the milk). I can't imagine that the milk used in that is really that great. However, that is overshadowed by that 30 grams of carbs, that is, SUGAR. Highly processed, sugar (though there's a smidge of natural sugar in the milk and fruits, but it's NOT 30 grams worth). Don't believe me? Look up yogurt and granola in that handy guide. Ick. Sugar has, time and time again, been shown to be a culprit in increasing inflammation in the body and creating insulin resistance (to keep the list short), both of which are risk factors for Type 2 diabetes. The same criticism rings true for the maple oatmeal he ate, except that little bugger has some light cream in it... yum!

At first glance, the Eggwhite Delights that Cisna consumed seem like a good idea, only 250 calories each, oh but wait, check out the "whole" grain muffin and egg white and margarine ingredients. Super appealing right?

I could continue in this vein for a while, but I'll cease my tirade and allow my point to actually surface: 240 calories of crap is still crap. The composition of food absolutely matters. The message, as it stands on the surface, is still, "reach for processed foods over whole foods." How much BETTER do you think Cisna would feel if he had chosen whole, minimally processed foods?

I applaud Cisna for sticking with his endeavor, to keep walking even when he didn't want to, and to making conscientious food choices. I'm so glad he lost weight, is healthier than before, and has learned the value in monitoring caloric intake. This is a great stepping stone on his path to a healthier lifestyle. I hope very much that he will be able to continue without the help of McDonald's.

I think the true message of this experiment is food quantity and quality matter, along with regular exercise. Unfortunately, the second half, food quality, is buried under the lie that choosing "healthy" options at McDonald's is a viable way to improve health. Again, crap is still crap. Don't let the media's sensationalism divert you from the truth of eating real foods.

The Battlefield is in the Kitchen: Part II

Maria Halkiadakis, once again, graces the Blog of SAPT. Take it away Maria!

Last Friday’s post began the discussion, The Battlefield is in the Kitchen.  Before moving on to Part II let’s do a quick recap on the topic…

Training alone is not enough to help anyone achieve the results they are after. Common sense tells us that eating right and exercising are the two key elements to taking care of our bodies. It is important to find a balance between the two by not over training or depriving oneself of proper nutrition. Translation = pick up the right amount of heavy things and eat the right amount of good food.

Today we are focusing on what needs to be done in the kitchen to reach our goals. Last week we discussed how planning and preparation are crucial factors. This means creating weekly menus, using these menus to make grocery lists, and dedicating time to prepare meals. Two days a week my kitchen counter looks a little something like this…

We also discussed purging your pantry last week. If you find yourself eating junk food because it is around the house, get rid of it! Donate it, throw it in the trash, or give it away. It is perfectly okay to have snack foods in the kitchen, but it needs to be the healthy kind, which brings me to the first new point of today’s discussion.

EAT REAL FOOD

There are no secrets or anything new to be learned here. Just eat real food. It really is that easy.  Eating a variety of real food, meaning fruit, vegetables, meats, grains, legumes, nuts/seeds, and dairy, will provide the human body all the nourishment it needs.

A good rule of thumb is not to eat anything that has more than five ingredients. Unless of course you made it yourself and know it is filled with wholesome ingredients.  For example, grains and dairy products are perfectly acceptable as part of a healthy diet.However, be cautious when deciding which ones to purchase from the grocery store. As far as ingredients go on prepackaged items, less is definitely more. (Note from Kelsey: How To Read Food Labels.)

EAT IN MODERATION

Slow down, set aside the fork for a minute, and enjoy how your food tastes. I hate seeing people practically inhale their meals. Food is NOT fuel, it is so much more than that. Therefore, don’t treat your body as if you would treat your car at the gas pump: by filling up with the cheap stuff and going on with your day.

Food is delicious! Slow down and enjoy every bite of it. Strive to be mindful of what you are eating while you are eating it. Avoid distractions during meals such as watching television or talking on the phone. Doing these things won’t allow you to pay proper attention to your body’s hunger signals.

It takes approximately 20 minutes for the human body to realize it’s full. For this reason it would make sense to allow yourself at least 20 minutes to eat a meal.

Below are a few tips:

- Try drinking water between bites to slow down.

- Eat meals with friends or family whenever possible.

- Lengthen mealtime by enjoying their company and engaging in conversation. As a bonus you’ll be killing two birds with one stone; adopting healthier habits and spending time with the people you care about.

Sometimes you may need to eat in a hurry. If this happens make an active decision to do so and pay attention to your portion size realizing you may not feel full by the time you have eaten enough.

You do not have to deprive yourself of your favorite foods and restaurants.  Follow the 90% rule, meaning aim to keep your diet on point about 90% of the week.  If you eat 3 meals a day, roughly 21 meals per week, and 90% of that is 19. Therefore, you can eat out twice a week, make your favorite meal twice a week, or some combination of the two.

MAKE SMALL CHANGES

Don’t expect to do a complete 180 over night. This is why hasty, lofty New Year’s resolutions tend to fail. In order to be successful it is better to start by making small changes rather than throwing all caution to the wind and diving into unknown territory. Here are a few ways to implement small changes into your routine:

• Start by swapping out snacks like chips or candy with something healthier such as fruits, veggies, or nuts.

• Try learning one new recipe a week or every other week if you all ready have some healthy favorites.

• Gradually reduce portion sizes if you are eating too much.

• Be willing to try new things! You might just fall in love with a fruit or vegetable you’ve never had before.

• Substitute things in your diet one at a time. For example, swapping out yogurt with a list of unpronounceable ingredients you can’t understand for plain yogurt with fruit or honey mixed in.

Remember to apply these suggestions at your own pace. Set small term goals while you are planning your menu each week and write one at the top of it, such as, “this week I will put one less teaspoon of sugar in my coffee and next week I would like to try this new kale recipe.”

Take care of your body, feed it right, and you’ll see the results you are working so hard to achieve.  Use this advice, find people to support you, and ask for help if you need it.  It may not always be easy, but you can do it!

"That's A Load of...." Debunking Media "Fitness" Terms

Glance at the front of the magazines at grocery stores and you'll see a variety of "fitness" or "health" claims such as "tone," "fat-blasting," and other such nonsense as that. I find myself rolling my eyes so much that my occipital (eye) muscles are as big as a body builder's biceps. Sorry, strength coach joke.

Moving on, today I'm going to rip through debunk a few of those outrageous claims so that you too can strengthen your occipital muscles as you wait in the grocery check-out line. I can not possibly cover all the silliness out there, but I've narrowed it down to a few of the common ones (that seem to appear month after month on magazines such as "Self" or "Woman's Day"). A lot of these claims are found on women's magazines, mainly because I think we're fed more crap than the fellas, but they apply to both genders.

CLAIM: "Tone," as in "tone those jiggly arms"- First off, let me remind you that everyone's arm jiggles; that's what happens when a muscle is relaxed. The main definition of "Tone" in exercise physiology is: the normal state of elastic tension or partial contraction in resting muscles. For example, the postural are constantly contracting and relaxing to keep you upright (or slouched...stand up straight!). The fitness magazine "tone" refers to the ability to actually see the muscles' shapely form. (So really, they should say "definition" not "tone.")

In order for a muscle group to be defined, say your arms, two things must occur: 1) the muscle is big enough to be seen (so those stupid tricep kick-backs or bicep curls with 5 pound weight ain't gonna cut it when it comes to muscle growth.) and 2) there needs to be less subcutaneous (under the skin) fat. How does one accomplish bigger muscles with less body fat? Why, picking up heavy stuff and eating a vegetable and protein laden-diet! Glance through a women's magazine at those "arm toning" exercises and you tell me if you think they would actually succeed. As for eating healthy, the details look different for each person (i.e. paleo, vegan, omnivore, etc.), however it should be 90-100% REAL FOOD with minimal crap (though a Christmas cookie or two is ok.) 90% of the time.

FACT: "Tone" means: less fat, bigger muscles. 

CLAIM: "Fat-blasting" food- The media makes it seems as if these foods (and it's a new one each week!) has heavy artillery and upon entrance to the body, starts blowing up fat cells left and right.

Uh, sorry, that's not how the body works. Fat cells, once formed, don't go away. They do however change size depending on how much fat is stored in them. So, in order to reduce the amount of fat in each cell, the body needs to be in a caloric deficit. This means you need to eat LESS than what you're using up, for the basic metabolic functions, exercise, and other activities. The body will burn it's excess energy, aka stored fat, to make up for the lack of energy intake. Altering body composition is a life style change; I guarantee you that just eating a serving or two of "fat blasting" foods will NOT be enough to reverse years of bad eating habits. There is a wealth of solid (and scientific) advice out there, and there are definitely more details than I plan on elaborating in this post (maybe another time...) however it boils down to this:

Stop eating crap, eat real food, and pick up heavy things. Take note that I put the nutritional advice first. You can not out-train a crappy diet, so clean that up first! There will be a blog post later on this month regarding that whole aspect of fat-loss.

FACT: Eating a whole-foods based diet, with minimal crap, and exercising regularly OVER TIME will reduce body fat levels.

CLAIM: "Target" body part, usually for fat loss- This myth just won't die! It keeps reappearing week after week on the covers of magazines and on the interwebz. People, YOU CANNOT SPOT REDUCE!!! The body doesn't say, "Oh, I see that you are doing thousands of crunches, I should reduce the body fat I store there so you can have a flat tummy." Really, it says, "For the love of all things iron, STOP CRANKING ON THE SPINE ! It HATES that!" Targeting is about as effective as trying to grow eye-stalks.

Oh, if grunting made it so!

For "targeting trouble areas" see the above two points: an overall body fat reduction will promote definition of muscles and those "problem areas" will be not so problematic. Again, it's a life-style change, not a quick fix.

*This is not to say that isolation work has no purpose. How else are you supposed to have guns for the ladies? Some isolation work thrown in to an already compound-movement heavy (lots of multi-joint exercises such as squats, deadlifts, pushups, pull ups etc) work out can provide some extra stimulation to a muscle group that can lead to hypertrophy (growth).

FACT: Compound movements should be the bulk of you training program. That combined with a diet of whole foods will reduce body fat levels and thus reducing the need to "target" certain areas. (anyone picking up on a theme?)

CLAIM: This is an actual quote from a celebrity trainer, who is a disgrace to our industry:

"Oftentimes, heavy weights can tear the muscle fiber causing it to bulk, but using a lighter weight for a longer duration and allowing your body to move in many different ways to target all of the muscles will lengthen them without tearing."

-Tracy Anderson

Multiple other coaches and trainers have ripped into this (and other nonsensical claims that spew forth from her mouth). Sadly, she is not the ONLY trainer out there who thinks this is true, she just happens to profess this poop where more people can read it. I'm not going to touch the first half of that statement except to say, uh, that's the method by which the body grows stronger...by tearing and repair muscles. Oi!

The phrase "lengthening muscles" is also found, unfortunately, in other fitness "experts" mouths and in their writings. It is physiologically impossible to lengthen a muscle without breaking the bones and extending them or altering the attachment points of the muscle. Yes, the muscles lengthen and shorten during normal movements, however, the actual length of the muscle doesn't change. Got a problem with that? Take it up with your parents, they passed the genes along.

I think that term is really just "tone" said in a different way. Ultimately, the phrase is intended to indicate "definition" just like the word "tone." If a trainer says/writes that claim, it's a pretty solid indication that the trainer/coach has absolutely NO idea how physiology works and therefore you should turn and flee. I'd also like to note her splendid use of the buzzword, "target."

FACT: "Lengthening" a muscle is impossible, and the intended implication is "definition" which is attained via the methods described ad nauseam above. 

Now, my SAPT readers, you are armed with the knowledge to see through the baloney that fitness magazines and products proudly display and you have the ability to recall the truth: a great, healthy body is created by... do I really need to say it again? Don't allow the stupidity of the outrageous claims dissuade you from thinking that anything but consistent hard work (both in the kitchen and in the gym) will accomplish your performance and/or physique goals.